 "Photo: Nancy Rosenthal")
Journalism senior lecturer David Garlock considers himself lucky after surviving a September 2006 jaywalking accident at the corner of 25th and Guadalupe streets.
Garlock suffered four broken bones and a fractured skull in the incident. He said it took him about six months to fully recover from his injuries. Last year, the Austin Police Department reported 461 auto-pedestrian crashes. Of the 63 total traffic fatalities in 2007, 24 people died after being hit by a car.
"The doctors told me I shouldn't have survived it," Garlock said. "Obviously I don't jaywalk anymore."
In February, APD began a jaywalking crackdown to prevent auto-pedestrian accidents, said Lt. Craig Cannon of APD's Highway Enforcement Command. Cannon said 534 city ordinance violations have been issued for pedestrians in the roadway: 416 for pedestrians crossing mid-block and 118 for pedestrians walking in the roadway. The citations carry up to a $280 fine.
Cannon said the police department will use plain-clothes and motorcycle officers to ticket drivers who fail to yield the right-of-way to people in the crosswalk. The importance of the project is to eliminate deaths and injuries to people crossing legally and illegally in all sections of the city, Cannon said.
The crackdown is the first jaywalking initiative conducted by APD and will last through May 4. As a part of the project, officers will give advice to pedestrians, such as wearing brightly colored clothing to attract drivers' attention. Cannon said police may conduct another initiative next year.
"It's possible," he said. "If it's effective, we'll do it again."
Students jaywalking on Whitis Street had mixed reactions to the APD initiative.
"I understand why it's dangerous and it interrupts traffic. Like just now, a car was coming at me," advertising sophomore Megan Smith said. "But a $200 ticket … it's a little ridiculous."
Radio-televison-film junior Andrew Baris said the initiative is fair on traffic-filled roadways, like Guadalupe Street, and that tickets might prevent jaywalking.
"I think it's dangerous to cross Guadalupe," he said. "I had never seen accidents before in my life until I saw them on Guadalupe."
Garlock said police should focus more on drivers than pedestrians. He said he does not believe a ticket will stop people from jaywalking.
"I think people are always going to jaywalk," he said. "Is it a good idea? No, but to me the damage comes from the cars that hit people. Even if the light turns green and I have the walkway, I've still had situations where I thought I was going to get hit again. I've even seen Capital Metro; some of the buses kind of fly through there when it was yellow. To me, the cars are by far the biggest culprit out here."
Garlock said he believes the city should replace the current crosswalk signs with ones that have countdown timers to tell pedestrians when the light will change. He also said he hopes that when the new communications building is completed, the University will build an overpass for students and faculty to walk across the street.
"We ought to have an overpass certainly around 26th Street and Guadalupe," Garlock said. "Also, I don't know if people should be driving on [campus] streets. In the middle of day, for example, when students are going from classes, I don't know why those streets are even open for cars."
Alan Hughes, supervising transportation engineer with the city's Public Works Transportation Department, said overpasses can cost in the million-dollar range. He noted that there is already an overpass near Ernest Cockrell Jr. Hall that spans Dean Keeton Street.
Hughes said Austin installs crosswalks on a request basis, and state law requires that at least 100 pedestrians cross a specific intersection every hour.
"It's just not you call in and I put in a crosswalk," he said. "We look at the traffic volumes and the pedestrian volumes and determine if a crosswalk would in fact make the situation better. There are plenty of locations where a crosswalk wouldn't be appropriate."
Hughes said the city will update some crosswalks with countdown timers as part of the Cesar Chavez Street renovation project, which will be completed in May.
"The signals at San Antonio, Guadalupe, Lavaca, Colorado will all have the new countdown timers," he said. "They are more money. If we can see a benefit out of them, we could go and install additional ones."
Garlock gives advice to potential jaywalkers in light of his near-death experience.
"The biggest mistake that we all make, and I certainly am guilty of this, is that we think somehow that [drivers] will see us," he said. "Well, hell, all you have to do is look for yourself; people are actually doing text messages while they are driving, talking on their cell phone and fiddling with their radio. They don't see you."
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